Today we’d like to introduce you to Molly Erdman.
Molly, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started my acting and writing career in Chicago, where I was a member of the Second City Mainstage cast for three revues. I also had a long run as the wife in a commercial campaign for Sonic Drive-in. I moved to LA in 2007 and quickly discovered that I would need to keep finding new ways to create content for myself. In 2010 I started the blog Catalog Living, which pokes fun of home furnishing catalogs (like Pottery Barn and West Elm), and in 2012 my book, Catalog Living At Its Most Absurd, was published. After having a baby, in 2014 I collaborated with my good friends Megan Grano and Laurel Coppock on a mom-comedy sketch web series called The BreakWomb, which culminated in a contract with Viacom to create sponsored content for TV Land. After that came to a close I was on the hunt for something new, which brings me to my current project, Warren Unfiltered, a collection of political satire videos in which I play Elizabeth Warren.
The back story of Warren Unfiltered actually dates back several years. In 2012, when Elizabeth Warren was running for Senate, my friend Eddie Geller approached me to do a video parody of her candidacy announcement. Even though we weren’t in Massachusetts, he sensed the momentum she was gaining and saw an audience for a parody video. I think he saw enough of a facial similarity that he thought it I could pull it off, and once I put the glasses on it started to click. When she entered the spotlight as a presidential candidate, it seemed like time to dust off the glasses and wig and get her (me) back out there. I teamed up with my friends and collaborators Andy Cobb and Mike Damanskis and we launched Warren Unfiltered.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has definitely not been easy! Throwing all of your energy, time, and often money into a new project is really daunting, and it’s easy to want to bail early on if things don’t immediately click. I’ve learned a lot about perseverance, and I’ve had to get out of my comfort zone and learn to self-promote.
My collaborative process with Warren Unfiltered has been a great experience so far. Aside from some internet trolls, it’s generally been really fun, and I love getting back to my Second City roots in political and social satire. Creating content for the internet, especially when you’re not always getting paid for it, is about finding the balance between speed and quality. That can pose some challenges, but we try hard to not overthink things too much and put out content that makes us laugh.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Warren Unfiltered story. Tell us more about your work.
Warren Unfiltered creates satirical web content featuring my impression of Elizabeth Warren. Our most viewed video is of me returning a library book as Elizabeth Warren, running, waving, and taking a selfie. Other popular videos include a visit to LA ComicCon, A kid’s town hall, and a cooking show called “A Biting Chance.”
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
With web content, there’s always the luck of who happens to see your video and what they choose to do with it. Having people with large Twitter followings retweet our videos has been key for us. Aside from that, I guess it’s lucky that CVS carries reading glasses almost identical to Warren’s!
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/warrenunfiltered
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WarrenUnfiltered
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/warrenunfilter
- Other: http://www.youtube.com/warrenunfiltered
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